An enjoyable showing for USC

MINNEAPOLIS - USC coach Lane Kiffin did not leave the field in a celebratory mood Saturday evening.

It could be a long wait before that ever happens. Perhaps when USC finally scores another two-point conversion.

But Kiffin kept his angst to himself in the locker room following the 18th-ranked Trojans' 32-21 victory over Minnesota in front of 50,442 at TCF Bank Stadium.

He even let the team sing, "Fight On," a tradition following victories but something Kiffin prevented in unsatisfying wins over Hawaii and Virginia.

"The team needed to enjoy it," Kiffin said. "We are 3-0. It was the first time I felt they deserved to sing. They'd been waiting for it."

Not every player apparently, because quarterback Matt Barkley said, "I didn't even notice (we didn't sing it) until now."

Despite the postgame serenade, Kiffin remained generally unsatisfied with the performance. Asked what made him happy, he said, "It's helping a little bit that we are (winning) on the road."

That paled in comparison to the list for improvements, however.

"We played extremely poorly on offense early," he said. "I'm disappointed with the turnovers on offense, especially the interceptions. Matt had gone through two games without any interceptions. To have two in one game, that would get us beat down the road playing tougher competition."

USC (3-0) looked capable of getting beaten by the Golden Gophers, who took a 14-13 lead on a 31-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Adam Weber to wide receiver Da'Jon McKnight. But the Trojans immediately responded as freshman wide receiver Robert Woods returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

"I knew I had it when I first hit the hole," said Woods, a former Serra High star. "From the first block you could tell it was open right away."

The Trojans did something Kiffin abhorred during his stint as offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll: They reverted back to Tailback U.

USC ran the ball on eight of 11 plays for its next touchdown as Barkley hit wide receiver David Ausberry on a 21-yard pass play and a 26-14 lead. The Trojans then ran on four of the next six plays, culminating with tailback Allen Bradford's 56-yard touchdown run that gave USC a 32-14 advantage.

"At halftime (the coaches) said we're going to run and they're not going to stop it," offensive tackle Matt Kalil said. "I love running the ball and crushing defensive ends. They were definitely getting tired and calling it quits.

"We started out slow and decided to lean on the offensive line. I think we found a part of ourselves. We're jelling together. We're finding ourselves on offense."

Bradford finished with 131 yards in only 12 carries. Not bad considering before the game he was behind starter Marc Tyler and backup Dillon Baxter.

"I didn't wake up thinking I would get the ball at all," Bradford said. "There were a lot of people saying I should move to linebacker or safety. I'm a running back. It gets hard (to overcome adversity) but I handled it my whole career. I'm ready."

A physical running game finally gave the Trojans some semblance of an identity after three games. Unless excessive penalties (seven for 71 yards), an inexplicable desire by Kiffin to unnecessarily go for two points and a failure to put teams away are character traits wanted by the coaches.

"We'd like (smash-mouth football) to be our personality," Kiffin said.

The defense also forged an impression by limiting Minnesota's offense to 83 yards rushing. The Gophers (1-2) entered the game rushing for nearly 243 yards and no one wanted to point out Minnesota did it against Middle Tennessee State and South Dakota.

With Gophers coach Tim Brewster fighting for his job, it was almost stunning how predictable his playcalling became against a marquee opponent. Brewster ran on first down on seven of the Gophers' first eight possessions.

"It was real surprising they went to the run, even after they got stuffed," USC nose tackle Jurrell Casey said.

USC's defense remained susceptible to the pass even if Minnesota would not (or could not) offer much in terms of explosiveness. Weber's 37-yard pass to wide receiver Marqueis Gray set up the game's first touchdown.

A strong running game and improving defense also will be required if Barkley plays like he did Saturday. After throwing seven touchdowns with no interceptions the first two games, the sophomore completed 17 of 26 passes for 192 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

"The first one is extremely critical, Matt didn't wait long enough," Kiffin said. "I think Matt was very frustrated and forced that ball (on the second interception)."

Barkley limped out of the locker room with a sore calf muscle that he said was, "hard as a rock," and caused Kiffin to run less shotgun in the second half.

He assured reporters he would be fine next week, though, especially with winless Washington State the next stop on the schedule. Even Kiffin eventually sounded more conciliatory.